Amnesty International Claims That The Myanmar Military Used Tactics Of War Against Protesters

Myanmar military at demonstration site. (Twitter / @ htza97)

JAKARTA - The Myanmar military used weapons of war and lethal force in its crackdown on protesters against last month's coup, Amnesty International said on Thursday 11 March.

The Rights groups say they have verified more than 50 videos of the crackdown, in which the United Nations says security forces have killed at least 60 protesters. It said many documented killings amounted to extrajudicial executions.

Amnesty said the Myanmar military used weapons suitable for battlefields to kill protesters. It said that they were in the hands of units accused by rights groups of years of committing atrocities against ethnic minority groups, including Rohingya Muslims.

"It's not an act of being overwhelmed, individual officers make bad decisions", Joanne Mariner, director of crisis response at Amnesty International, told Reuters.

"This is an unrepentant commander who has been involved in crimes against humanity, deploying troops and methods of killing in the open", Joanne continued.

Myanmar military. (Twitter / @ ThuZarM95645629)

Amnesty International said the weapons used included sniper rifles, as well as assault rifles, and sub-machine guns (SMG).

In addition, Amnesty International also calls for an end to killings and the release of prisoners. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said nearly 2.000 people have been detained since the coup. Reuters could not reach a spokesman for the junta for comment.

To note, the Myanmar military regime took power on February 1, detaining elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and sparking daily protests across Myanmar that sometimes draw hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets.

The Myanmar military used cheating in the 2020 Myanmar elections as a pretext for carrying out a coup. In the election, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (LND) party won the majority.

Regarding the Myanmar Coup, the VOI editorial team continues to monitor the political situation in one of the ASEAN member countries. Casualties from civilians continue to fall. Readers can follow the news surrounding the Myanmar military coup by tapping on this link.